Samsung Display has developed high-resolution Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) panels for laptops that support 4K resolution. Early next year, the development is set to be presented to the public at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. It has been reported that the supply of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels for laptops has been suspended this year.

On December 3, according to the industry, Samsung Display has developed 13.3 inch, 14 inch, and 15.6 inch OLED panels that support Ultra HD(UHD) for laptops that support 4K resolution. It is in supply talks with HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung Electronics. The new type of OLED panel has excluded the blue light to the maximum extent and increased the resolution to consider the health of the users’ eyes.

An industry official said that “There are various points of distinction for PC producers such as the wide view angle, quick response time, and thinness, in addition to having high resolution and low blue light,” and estimated that “next year, premium laptops such as laptops with high-resolution OLED panels for gaming will be introduced in large quantities.”
Samsung Display had provided HP with WQHD(2560×1440) resolution OLED panels for 13.3 inch and 14-inch laptops in 2017. Due to the higher price tag than LCD, there was not much supply.

However, recently, the price difference between OLED and LCD screens has been decreasing. According to the industry, next year, 15.6 inch OLED panels by Samsung Display would be around 50-60 USD compared to the price of LCD panels with the same level of resolution. With such a difference, the experts explain that OLED panels would have a competitive edge upon installation on the premium product group.

Samsung Display’s OLED laptops are produced in A2 factories, the rigid line, that use glass as a board. As the number of clients for smartphones looking for flexible panels increases, there is more room for production at the rigid line production capacity.

According to Display Supply Chain Consultant (DSCC), the A2 line operation rate of Samsung Display has been recovered to 90% in the third quarter, the rate is expected to be reduced to 72% again in the fourth quarter.